Midsea

Captain's Log-Year of the Blind God Five Hundred and Twelve -Second Moon of Autumn- Fifth Sunrise

Sea Battle with Ghost Ship after going back to Bex

19

OCT/16

Captain’s Log-Year of the Blind God Five Hundred and Twelve, Second Moon of Autumn, Fifth Sunrise

This is Cassandra Foamrider, Captain of the merchant ship The Second Spyglass. I took over from being first mate when our previous Captain refused to take this journey. He said he was done with ferrying the devil-sought Uldir Blacksteel between worlds and would remain among the alien lands of Midsea in Bex City of the Magic Towers.

I was not always a Captain who counted cursed Arcane Warriors as clients and an inter-dimensional itinerary. I started out in Waterdeep on the good ship Spyglass, a modest merchant two-master. I worked my way up to first mate, and as my duties grew so did my profit share on the ship. I spent many years in that capacity until the fateful day we took on Uldir Blacksteel as a passenger.

We had left Waterdeep without a cloud in the sky. An hour later we were rocked with a tempest only an Infernal could cook up. Some of the others who booked passage attacked Uldir, reasoning correctly it was a devil’s curse that was causing the storm. The bravest of us attempted to protect Uldir, as he was a passenger, cursed or not.

I was too busy keeping the ship afloat to do much else, but Uldir killed any who opposed him.

Then the strange purple gate opened and we passed through, ending up in the world of Midsea. A world with no sun, only a Phoenix that flies overhead everyday and a land with no horizon, the edge its existence ends in some strange firmament.

We came into Bex Harbor with our ship sinking along with our prospects. Many were rescued; many were not. Uldir ended up being saved from drowning in his heavy armor by the Tiefling rogue Hanz and his fisherman Uncle Penzca.

The Captain, the Quartermaster and I gathered up as many of the Waterdeep crew that didn’t drown and found work on the prosperous Doro Docks. After a few months we pulled our meager resources and finally figured a time when the Purple Gate between the Worlds would open by consulting with the Tiefling Seeress in Tiefling Town. The Fourth Quintana Mage Alexandra, who wanted to see how we fared returning to our world, financed a new ship through on one condition. We take Uldir with us.

The Captain could not conscience such an action and chose to stay in Midsea, making a new life for himself. The Quartermaster backed my bid and I was voted in as the new Captain.

So I assembled my crew along with recruited sailors who wanted to leave this world. As you can imagine many of them were running from something so it was a crew as scurvy as they come. So when we sailed to the last sighting of the Inter-Dimensional Portal I had more than Uldir to concern myself.

I remembered it was between the sightlines of the Eternal Torch and Marid Island’s third mountain. Sure enough a Purple Triangle appeared at the wave’s crest, with seawater spilling into it. It was four ship lengths wide and inside I could see a tunnel that was even wider. I set the sail and let the water that fell through the gate pull me in, wondering if the wind would still keep inside the tunnel.

I sighted Uldir Blacksteel on deck. His dark armor and dark countenance kept many sailors away from him. What happened to our last ship that brought him through the gate was still whispered in the back alleys of Bex and no doubt in Waterdeep. He paid well though and it was enough to buy us a ship and this desperate crew.

Uldir was looking down and talking to something. I came up close and heard a tormented voice speaking with him. I looked over the rail and saw the form of a woman in the sea foam near the ships waterline. I could not hear all of what she said but it seemed she was his wife and was locked in torment somewhere. She then pointed back the way we came and dissipated.

I quickly walked back to the wheel, where the new First mate was talking to the Navigator. I turned and saw Uldir walk up.

“We must go back.” He demanded in that terrible shiver inducing voice.

The Quartermaster said Uldir’s words always echoed of a soul scarred by damnations.

“It will cost you much,” I said. We were still poor from losing the first ship Spyglass and in debt to the shipwrights for The Second Spyglass.

Uldir lifted up a hand full of gems.

“Turn this ship around you sorry excuse for sailors!” I yelled.

The money in his hand would pay all debts and leave many of us comfortable for years. I also didn’t want to go against this desperate warrior or his devil-damned wife.

We turned back and exited the strange hall of waters between the worlds. We came back to Bex and then were confronted by a rotting ship that rose from beneath the harbor. The heroic dwarf Kona and the knight Sir Gavin got on our ship, defending it from a Pit Fiend. I even saw the deadly archer GFoot send shaft after shaft into its scaly hide.

Of course Hanz showed up with his Uncle Penzca and got that deadly group off my ship after the battle was done. We then put in at the Doro Docks and paid our debts with Uldir’s Diamonds.